Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-08-20
Co. ~ as
A HISTORY OF ADVENTURE.
by ii. RIDER H~hGGARD.

NM N''NF .AAARStNilNl, anu d0 TOHI III OEI
heavy boat against stream in the heat WAS
ont Of the question, we were thankful
enough to get under the shade Of q yroup
of trees-a species Of wiliow-that grew by
the edge Of the river, and lie there and
gasp till ut length the approach of sunset
put Il period to our lniseries. Seeing what
appeared TO be IN open space OF water
ahead OF us, we determined TO row there
before settling what to DO for the night.
Just as we were about TO loosen the boat.
however, u beautiful, water-buck. with
great horns curvinC forward, and q white
pc across the ruInp, came down to the
I~cr to drink, without perceiying us hid
den away within fifty yards under the viii
lows. Leo was tho first TO catch sight Of
1t, and being an ardent sportsman, thirst
ing for the blood OF big game, about which
he had been dreaming for months, he in
stantly stiTcned all over, and pointed like
a setter dog. Seeing what was the matter,
| handed him his express rifle, ct the same
time taking my OWL.
Now then" l whispered, 'tmind ycu
don't miss"
"Missr' he whispered back, contemptu-
ously; " could not miss It if | tried"
He lifted the rife, and the roan-coiored
buck, having drunk his IL, raised his head
and looked out across the river. He was
standing right against the sunset sky on a
little eminence or ridge of ground that ran
across the swamp, evidently n ~fayorite
path for game, and there was something
very bcautifG! about him.
Bang! Away he goes with q mighty
bound. Leo has missed him. Bang! right
under him again. Now for ashot. Unjust
have one, though he is going like an arrow,
~ Il hundred yards away and more. BY
)e! over and over and over. 'Well, !
mink I've wiped your eye there, Master
Leo" | say, struggling against the ungen.
erous exultation that in such n supreme
moment Of ones existence viii rise in the
best tutored ~sportsinan'S breast.
"Confound you, yes! growlcd Leo; and
then, with that quick smile that is one OF
his charms lighting up his handsome face
like u ray Of light, II beg your pardon, old
fellow! congratulate you; it was a lovely
shot. and mine were vile"
We got out Of the boat and ran to the
buck, whick was shot through the spine.
and stone-dead. 1t took Us u quarter of an
hour or more to clean it and cut off as
much Of the best meat as we could carry.
and having packed this away, we had
barely light enough % row up into the la.
goOn-lilc space, into which, there being u
hollow in the swamp, the river here eX.
banded. Just as the light vanished we
cas-. anchor about ilty yards from the edge
OF the lake. We did not dare TO 20 ashore,
not kuo"iati we should find dry ground
to camp uu, ani greatly fearing the poison.
ous cNhoI&tions from the marsh, which we
t.iougAt we should be frcer from on the
water. $50 we LIGHTED a lantern, and made
our evening meal or another pottcd tongue
in Tire best fashion that we could. and pre-.
pared tJ a4 "a sleep only, however, to find
tao Sleep was impossible. Ior. whether
they were attracted by the lantern, or by
tie unacCuStOmcd smell OF q white man,
for which they had been waiting for the
last thousand years or SO, | know not, but
certainly we were presently attacked 10y
tens Of thousands OF the most blood-thirsty,
peftinaciOus, aud huge mosquitoes that !
ever saw or read OF. In clouds they came,
and pinged and buzzed and bit till we
were nearly mad. Tobacco-smoke only
seemed TO stir them into a merrier and
more active life, till at length we were
driven TO covering ourselves with blankets,
head and all, and sitting to slowly stew
and continually scratch and swear beneath
them. And as we sat, suddenly rolling
out like thunder through the silence came
the deep roar OF a lion, and then OF a second
lion, moving among the reeds within fifty
yards of US.
Il say" said Leo, sticking his head out
from under his blanket, "lucky we amt
on the bank, ell, Avuncular?" 0eo some
times addressed me in this disrespect1ul
way.) Curse it! a mosquito has bitten me
on the nose" II the head vanished again.
Shortly after this the moon came up, ana
Notwithstanding every variety of roar that
echoed over the water to US from the lions
on the banks, we began, thinking our-
selves perfectly secure, to gradually doze
Off.
don't quite know what II was that made
me poke my head out of the friendly shell
ter Of the blankct-pcrhaps because | found
that the mosquitoes were biting right
through it. Anyhow, as did 50 | heard
Job whisper, in q frightened voice, ooh,
my stars, look thereV'
Instantly we all Of us looked, and his
was what we saw in the moonlight. Near
the shore were two wide and eyer-widen-
ing circles Of concentric rings ripping
away across the surface of the water, and
in the heart and center Of the circles were
two dark moving objects.
what is IT," asked /.
is those damned lions, sir" answered
JSUh q tone which was an odd mixture
of a sense of personal injury, habitual re-
spect, and acknowledged fear, ''and they
are swimming here to heat u.s." he added,
n%ervously picking up an 81" in his agita-
ton. looked again, there was no doubt
about it.; l could catch the glare Of their
ferocious eyes. Attracted either by Elc
smell of the newly-killed w~ater-buck meat
or Of ourselves, the hungry beasts were
actually storming our position.
Leo already had his rife in his hand. /
shouted to him to wait till they were near
er, and meanwhile grabbed my own. Some
fifteen feet from us the water Swallowed on
a bank to q depth Of about fifteen inches,
and presently the first of them-it was the
lioness-got on TO il, and shook herself and
roared. At that moment Leo fired, and
the bullet went right down her open mouth
md out ut the back Of her neck, and down
she dropped, with a splash dead. The
second Iona full-grown male-was some
two PAGES behind her. At this second be
got his f%ore-paws on to the bank, when q
strange thing happened. There was aruSh
1Alisturbance Of the water, such as
cNVes in q pond in England when Il pike
takes q little fish, only n thousand times
- -. ala 1sA.,